


The Year of the Dog

by jadenanne7



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-05-13 18:39:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14754167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadenanne7/pseuds/jadenanne7
Summary: Remus Lupin looks like a professor.  And Nyphadora Tonks has never been anyone's favorite student.





	1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything pertaining to Harry Potter and isn't that just a bit sad?

This is my first attempt at Remus/Tonks. Be gentle.

 

 

 

Grimmauld Place at midnight was a terrifying place to be, Nymphadora Tonks decided as she loitered at the front step. She had only been there once or twice as a child, and, frankly, that was enough. She wouldn't have been there at all if not for Moody insisting on her presence. To meet her cousin, he had said, as though she had never laid eyes on Sirius Black in her life. She had definitely had encounters with Sirius. He wasn't exactly someone she'd forget.

And he hadn't even been to Azkaban yet.

Removing her wand from her jacket, Tonks hesitated as she aimed for the door, startled by the faint chattering noise that seemed to be coming from inside the house. Were there that many people there? To visit Sirius? Her wand arm automatically lowered. A crowd of people at Grimmauld Place in the middle of the night with Sirius Black in the middle of it?

No, thank you.

Tonks turned on her heel, intent on making her merry way back to her own flat, and spun right into the broad chest of Alastor Moody.

"Going somewhere?" Moody teased, pushing Tonks out of his personal space.

"No. Of course not." Lying wasn't exactly Tonks' forte, and she could feel the blush heating her cheeks, clashing horribly with her bubblegum pink hair. "Constant vigilance. I heard someone coming and..."

"And I could have killed you a dozen times over while you were contemplating the bloody door," Moody growled. "You were chickening out on me. And here I thought I trained an auror. What are you, scared of your own kin?"

"Sirius Black is no one to be scared of. But don't tell him I said that."

Tonks startled, her wand at the ready in an instant, aiming at the man standing in the open doorway of Grimmauld Place.

"Nymphadora Tonks, holding me at wand point. Sirius is going to love this," the man grinned good-naturedly, seemingly unperturbed by the silent threat to his life.

"Easy, Girl." Tonks felt Moody inching closer, and wondered, briefly, if he would actually try to take her wand. He stopped just short. "Nymphadora Tonks, this is Remus Lupin."

Remus Lupin. She'd heard that name before. More than that. She'd met him before. Though the quiet young man she remembered seemed leaps and bounds away from man currently blocking her way into the house. In fact, he was rather shabby in his worn shoes and faded jumper. And the scars that marred his -admittedly handsome- face were new. No, not new. They were just...more. Though how he had gotten unlucky enough to end up with great big slashes across his face more than once Tonks surely didn't know. His eyes though... his eyes were the same. Green and sparkling and teasing and Tonks felt herself tug at her hair self-consciously.

Remus looked like a professor. And Tonks was never anybody's favorite student.

"Nobody calls me Nymphadora. It's a rubbish name."

"It's a lovely name, but alright." Remus took a tentative step forward as Tonks' wand arm lowered. "What would you like to be called?"

"Everyone calls me Tonks." Tonks reached out to take his hand as he extended it for a quick shake. "Infinitely better than Nymphadora."

"And now that we've all been properly introduced can we stop dilly-dallying on the stoop and get inside?" Moody scoffed, pushing past Tonks and Remus to enter the house. "We're holding up important business."

"The business of talking to Sirius?" Tonks arched her brow in blatant suspicion and smirked victoriously when Moody paused in the front hall. "What are we doing here, Mad-Eye? You've not been straight with me all week, which, frankly, hurts my feelings a bit; and I'm not stepping foot into this hell house until you tell me what's going on."

Remus and Moody exchanged a look, prompting the ends of Tonks' hair to take on a red hue. What was she, untrustworthy?

"Fine. If the two of you are going to treat me like a child..."

Tonks' second attempt at ditching the strange proceedings was thwarted by a firm hand on her elbow.

"We're not, Nymphadora. I swear." Remus released her arm, perhaps mindful of her willingness to use her wand. "There is a lot more to tonight than you've been told, and I apologize for the secrecy."

Tonks ignored Moody's exaggerated "hmmph".

"But we really need to discuss this inside. We've been standing out here for far too long already."

"Quite right. Enough of this." Tonks felt herself being yanked through the door and into the dimly lit front hall of Grimmauld Place. Moody obviously couldn't give a shit about where she waved her wand.

The smell hit her before anything else. Grimmauld Place had always had a certain musk -decaying house elves will do that to a place, no many how many anti-odor spells were cast- and years of absolutely no up-keep had only made it worse. Tonks didn't even realized she was holding her hand to her nose until she heard Remus chuckle.

"It smells better than it did a few weeks ago. I assure you, Molly's throwing everything she's got into de-lousing this place."

Tonks cringed. "Molly? As in Molly Weasley?"

"I do. And you don't look too happy about that." Remus' hands went into his trouser pockets and Tonks was once again reminded of just how much he reminded her of a Hogwart's professor. He practically reeked of disapproval.

"No... I mean... I love Molly. Who doesn't? It's just that..."

"It's just that Nymphadora can't keep her hands off the Weasley boys!"

Tonks fumed as Moody made his way away from her and clumped down the long hall to the safety of what she remembered as the kitchen.

"Miserable old gossip," she grumbled, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach as the voices in the house grew a little louder. Moody's presence was obviously welcome. "I dated Charlie, yes. And I might have had something of a fling with Bill, sure. But that was ages ago, and Molly just can't let it go!"

Remus chuckled. "Thought she'd finally nabbed herself a daughter-in-law, did she? You can't blame her for wanting to keep you. Females are hard to come by in that family."

Tonks grinned, pleasantly surprised to find that the Professor had a sense of humor. "I ran as soon as I got the first hand-knitted jumper. Poor Ginny. The Burrow must be hell for her with all those boys."

"Ginevra does alright. She can take any of those boys in a duel, and has done." Remus smiled and Tonks smiled back, gratified that he didn't hold her total lack of desire to be a Weasley against her.

"Tonks!" Tonks jumped as Moody yelled her name down the hall. "You're holding up the meeting! Get your arse in here! Now!"

"Meeting?" Tonks frowned at Remus and was met with an eye-roll.

"Come on, Miss Tonks. Let's get this over with."

With a gentle hand at her back, Remus steered her confidently towards the kitchen...and right into the outstretched foot of a horrendous-looking umbrella stand, prompting her to fall right onto her arse. She glared at Remus has he tried to help her to her feet. She could be clumsy right on her own without any assistance from him.

"Wow. This really brings back memories."

Tonks turned from Remus to find Sirius Black standing in the doorway of the kitchen, eyeing her more fondly than he had any right to.

"I've missed you, Little Cousin."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I still don't own Harry Potter. Sadness.

He looked better than Tonks had imagined, this cousin of hers. Definitely a vast improvement over the screaming maniac in his wanted posters. The grey pallor had gone from his face and was replaced by a slight paleness that suggested that he spent way too much time indoors. His hair was washed and had an actual bounce to it. And his clothes...obviously borrowed from his father's closet. Tonks cringed inwardly at the dated outfit, dripping with old money and pure-blood aristocracy.

It looked good on him.

"Here," Sirius said, gripping her right arm as Remus gripped the left, "I wouldn't spend too much time on this floor. Molly can only do so much."

The two men hauled Tonks to her feet and she stifled a protest when Sirius threw his arms around her.

"I've missed you, Little Cousin," he whispered into her hair. She could say the same, but she wouldn't. Long months she had spent hunting this man, devoting her life to putting her murderous cousin back in Azkaban, only to be told to call off the chase with no other explanation other than Dumbledore wanted him safe. That was good enough for most. Tonks wasn't as reassured.

Sirius gave her one last squeeze before pulling back an arm's length, his hands on her shoulders and his eyes scanning her up and down. "You were tiny the last time I saw you. Tiny and fierce. Always begging for a ride on my bike. I'd scoop you up and we'd be off before Andromeda could even realize we were gone..." His eyes glazed a bit as he recalled their shared past. "But you were always safe. I always kept you safe, didn't I, Tonks?" It was almost desperate, his pleading for reassurance. Tonks could do nothing but nod. It was the truth, after all.

Thankfully, Remus seemed to sense her discomfort. "If you're quite done with your stroll down memory lane, I think we ought to be getting to the kitchen," he said, steering her once more in the direction of the gathering, carefully avoiding anything that could send them both sprawling to the floor. "The sooner this is over, the sooner we can drink."

Drinking sounded wonderful.

The excitement didn't die down when they entered the fray of the kitchen. If anything, the chatter grew louder with every arrival.

"Tonks!" Molly Weasley met them at the doorway, planting a kiss on Tonks' still blushing cheek. Tonks winced slightly, planting a smile on her face before anyone could notice. Except for Remus. Of course he noticed. And even had the nerve to grin at her from behind Molly's back.

"Nymphadora Tonks! It's been ages." If by "ages" Molly meant since she caught Tonks with her legs over Bill's shoulders and his pasty white ass bobbing up and down at a frantic pace, trying his damnedest to make her orgasm for once, then yeah. It had been ages.

"Yes, and I'd love to catch up, but it looks like whatever is going on here is about to begin, so..."

"Of course. We'll talk later."

Molly scooted past Tonks and into the open seat next to her husband, leaving Tonks to sit in the only available seat, smack between Remus and Sirius, who seemed way too delighted with the arrangement.

Shooting a quick smile at Bill Weasley, who sat directly across from her, Tonks took in the small group with some interest. Only three Weasleys were present, a small miracle if there ever was one. Minerva McGonagall sat at Professor Dumbledore's side, of course, not looking a day older than when she was Tonks' own stern Transfiguration professor. Tonks had excelled in Transfiguration, and had also succeeded in getting at least one detention a week from Professor McGonagall. Three on her best weeks.

Tonks had had a lot of good weeks.

Another point of pride in Tonks' Hogwarts career was the amount of times Severus Snape had given up completely on assigning her detention and just told her to pack up her cauldron and leave his classroom. It wasn't that she was particularly bad at Potions. Quite the opposite. But there was just something about mixing two ingredients that were just not meant to mix... and a man could only take so many exploding cauldrons. And from the way he was glaring at her now from across the room, he remembered every single one.

Or... wait.. nevermind. He was glaring at Sirius. Tonks scooted slightly closer to Remus, giving Snape a better view. She owed him that much.

There were a few faces she didn't recognize, most of them older than her by at least a few years. One woman looked vaguely familiar, with dark hair and dark eyes that begged for Sirius' attention, which he was pointedly not giving. The only other person she recognized was Kingsley Shacklebolt, who looked almost as uncomfortable as Tonks felt.

"Tea?"

Tonks jumped in her seat. Walburga Black's old-as-dirt house elf, Kreacher, was still alive and asking her if she bloody wanted tea.

"Well?"

Polite, as always.

"Yes. Tea. Lovely."

Kreacher rolled his eyes and pushed the cup in her general direction, sending tea sloshing over the sides and onto the saucer and the antique table. Auntie Wally would be mortified. She'd also be mortified if she knew that Tonks had called her Auntie Wally behind her back.

Once the rest of the tea had been served and the messes cleared and Kreacher had been sent scurrying from the room by an irate Sirius, Dumbledore stood from his seat, a clear indication that everyone needed to shut up and pay attention.

"Good evening. I know this is a bit unorthodox, me calling you all together in the dead of night, but I am thankful to each and every one of you who showed up."

As if anyone summoned by Albus Dumbledore wouldn't show up.

"There is much that needs to be discussed tonight, and I believe it would be best to start with something that has probably been bothering quite a few of you."

Tonks bit the tip of her tongue, and willed her hair not to give away her irritation. The list of things that were bothering her about this particular gathering was as long as her forearm.

"Sirius Black is innocent and you deserve to know why."


	3. Chapter 3

Tonks' head was reeling. Sirius was innocent. Peter Pettigrew was alive. The only danger Harry Potter had been in was from the rat himself. It was almost unbelievable. Apparently, that disbelief was a shared emotion.

"I put him in Azkaban myself," Kingsley said, his finger punching the table so hard Tonks feared he would break it. "I held him back from attacking anyone and everyone who crossed his path. He was crazed. Murderous."

"If someone tried to shove you in Azkaban for a crime you didn't commit, you'd be upset too," Sirius countered.

"You were more than upset, mate," Remus said lightly. "Have you even seen your wanted posters?"

"Seen them... pissed on them..."

"Lovely," Tonks heard herself say. She was surprised she was even able to speak after the presentation Dumbledore had just given. An innocent man in Azkaban for 12 torturous years. Peter Pettigrew and the Marauder's Map. The tiny, tiny, yet almost-certain chance that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back and preparing to wreak havoc. How were any of them able to function after all that?

"Sirius had every right to be angry. Still does." Arthur Weasley shot an apologetic glance at Sirius. "I think we all have a right to a bit of anger. My family housed, fed, and downright spoiled that little beast for twelve years."

"He slept with our children," Molly chimed in, mortified.

"He slept with me." Bill shuddered theatrically and Tonks grinned.

"I slept with you."

Oh. So not only could Tonks speak, but she could also say incredibly stupid things at incredibly inappropriate times. Wonderful. The lock of hair that lay on her shoulder burned a bright red, and no level of concentration could bring it back to pink.

"Well, if it isn't the Black mouth making an appearance," Sirius chuckled.

"I think she's going to spontaneously combust. I don't think her hair could get any redder." Bill grinned and turned towards Molly, intent on making it worse. "How ya doin', Mum?"

"I've been better." Molly's eyes were boring holes into the table and Tonks wished fervently that the floor would open up and swallow her whole.

"I think we've veered way too far off topic." Snape spoke up from across the room and Tonks could have kissed him. A strange thought, but nothing stranger than anything else that had happened that night. "I have absolutely no interest in who Miss Tonks is sleeping with, was sleeping with, or will be sleeping with."

No, Tonks would not be kissing Snape. Not now, not ever.

"I'd like to get back to Black's presumed innocence, if we may."

Tonks didn't have to look over to know that Sirius was fuming. There seemed to be some bad blood between the two men, and Tonks predicted a duel by the end of the night. Which made her wonder if Sirius had a wand at all. Not that Sirius couldn't handle himself without one. She'd watched him give Lucius Malfoy a bloody nose and a black eye one weekend in Hogsmeade. She hadn't heard what Lucius said to Sirius to earn such a beating, but she was pretty sure it was directed at her.

Feeling a sudden swell of affection for her cousin, Tonks gave him a timid pat on the knee, earning a smile in return. 

"Sirius isn't presumed innocent, Severus." Remus, who had blushed as furiously as Tonks when she ran off at the mouth, finally decided to speak up. "Sirius is 100% innocent. I saw Pettigrew myself. So did Harry. And Hermione. And Ron. Are you calling us liars?"

"Such loyalty, Lupin. Mere months ago you were all for hunting Black down and feeding him to the Dementors," Snape sneered. "And now look at you, jumping to your boyfriend's defense..."

"Severus, that's enough." Dumbledore held up his hand, the picture of absolute authority. Too bad he wouldn't use that authority until it was too late and grown men were about to duel like teenagers. "We're not here to argue his innocence. There is nothing to argue. Eye-witnesses have claimed Peter Pettigrew alive and a pensieve prove it. Unless you are willing to call me a liar...?" Snape shook his head and lowered his eyes, probably to keep from glowering at a snickering Sirius. "Now I know you've all heard the rumblings in the wizarding community about He- Who..."

"Voldemort," Sirius interrupted quietly, drawing a hiss from Snape and several gasps from the rest of the room. "We shouldn't be afraid to say the bastard's name."

Tonks longed to agree, but years of contradictory teaching held her back. She was braver at Hogwarts, enthralling her dorm mates with tales of doom and Death Eaters, that awful name on the tip of her tongue and whispered into frightened ears. But that was years ago and after a few brushes with honest-to-goodness Death Eaters, her tales didn't seem so enthralling anymore.

"Nevertheless, Mr. Black," Professor McGonagall chimed in, "I believe the majority of the room would rather not hear it."

Ouch. Burns from McGonagall tended to sting for a while. But Sirius seemed impervious. "Come on, Minnie. You missed me and you know it."

Much to Tonks' surprise, Professor McGonagall nodded, her eyes tearing slightly. "I did. I truly did." The room fell silent for several moments. Tears from Minerva McGonagall warranted silence.

"And again, I think we've veered off subject."

Well... for most.

"I'm getting to it, Severus," Dumbledore replied, amused at Snape's lack of patience. Dumbledore seemed like the only person in existence to be amused by Snape. Period.

"And while you're getting to it, HE could be out there, holding a meeting of his own." Snape gestured angrily towards the door. "Getting to things much faster."

Tonks' stomach knotted. She was too young for where this conversation was headed. Comical, sure. Old enough to be an auror, to track down and bring to justice some of the wizarding world's most heinous criminals, but not old enough to even think about going after a wizard who may or may not be alive and who may or may not be gathering followers to carry out his evil plots. Made perfect sense in her head.

"And if he is out there... if he is planning something... what are we going to do about it?" Tonks had to know. The very fact that she was there at all, sitting with seasoned aurors, including Moody, who had been strangely silent for the past half-hour, meant that whatever happened, she was meant to be a part of it. A part of whatever alliance formed against Voldemort. And she had to know what that meant.

Dumbledore stared for a brief moment, and Tonks was relieved when he moved his gaze from her and looked at each and every individual at the table. "I don't know."


	4. Chapter 4

It was probably a mistake, to stay and guzzle Firewhiskey with Sirius and Remus, but sentimentality got the better of Tonks and she found herself lounging in the study long after the meeting was over, shoes off and blouse untucked from her skirt.  She felt like she was getting away with something, dressing this way in Walburga Black's house, and from the look Kreacher gave her as he brought the second bottle of Ogden's Finest, he clearly thought she was getting away with something too.

 

"He hates you."  Sirius said, glaring at the closed door Kreacher was probably listening through.  He had dressed down for the occasion as well, his jacket thrown over the back of the couch and his shoes somewhere in a pile with Tonks'.  "Don't feel bad.  He hates me too.  Always has."

 

"I don't feel bad."  Tonks swished the alcohol in her glass before downing it in one gulp, and held it out to be topped off.  "I feel astounded that his head isn't mounted on that ghastly wall."

 

"Don't say that too loudly.  He'll be running in here, begging you to kill him."  Remus slurred his words slightly, blushing at the realization that he might, in fact, be inebriated.  Though she'd only known him a few hours, Tonks got the distinct impression that Remus Lupin was not one to stay up all night drinking, and he definitely wasn't one to down the help.

 

"Remus Lupin!"  Sirius gasped, his hand pressed to his chest in mock horror.  "And here I thought you were the champion of poor, misunderstood creatures."

 

A look passed between the two men and Tonks diverted her gaze to her drink.  Best to not get involved in whatever history they had to sort out.  From the stories she had heard... boy was there a history.

 

"I am the champion of nothing."  Remus took a long sip of his drink and turned to Tonks, giving her an unexpected wink.  "I find it best to keep my head down and mind my own business."

 

Tonks smiled.  "I'm an Auror.  Everybody's business is my business.  Or so Moody keeps telling me."

 

"I could have been an Auror," Sirius broke in.  "I wanted to be an Auror, when I was a boy."

 

"You wanted to be anything that your mother couldn't brag about at parties."  Remus grinned, unrepentant.  "The more shame you brought upon her the better."

 

"Hey!"  The whiskey in Tonks' glass sloshed over the top and ran down her fingers as she sat straight up.  "Police work is a perfectly acceptable profession!"

 

"Not if you're Walburga Black."  The very mention of her name brought a hush over the room.  Even the snapping and crackling of the fire in the fireplace seemed to die down, as if afraid of calling the woman forth.  "Aurors don't make a lot of money," Sirius continued defiantly.  "They make a decent living, to be sure, but they aren't wealthy people.  Not unless they climb the ranks into the Ministry, and even that was only acceptable if that power was used to help Voldemort completely fuck the wizarding world up the ass."

 

"Not quite the way I'd put it, but Sirius is right."  Remus rose from his seat and paced the floor in front of Tonks.  It was silly really, but she was a wee bit jealous of his steady gait.  She didn't even have that when she was stone cold sober.  "Money mattered.  Power mattered.  Breeding mattered to a point.  She was willing to look over a little mixed blood if you had the money to cover it up."

 

"Priorities.  My mother had them." 

 

Tonks shifted from the sofa to the couch, settling beside Sirius as closely as she dared.  "I'm just grateful that your priorities were different.  Otherwise who knows where we'd all be."  She patted his hand gently and was stunned when he grabbed her hand and held it tightly, laying his head on her shoulder. 

 

"And you... you've seemed to have escaped the family curse.  I'm not surprised, what with your parents..."  He gripped her hand even tighter, smiling when the tips of her nails turned a pale shade of pink.  "How are your parents?  Andromeda?  Any brothers or sisters I should know about?"

 

Tonks laughed.  "Do you honestly think my parents could handle more than one of me?  It was all they could do to get me through Hogwarts." 

 

"You couldn't have been that bad," Sirius said incredulously.  "You were always such a sweet kid."

 

"Sweet, yes.  I was sweet.  I also took down the entire Quidditch pitch during a particularly rowdy game against Gryffindor. Was benched for an entire season."

 

"The _entire_ Quidditch pitch?"

 

" _Against_ Gryffindor?"  Sirius gripped Tonks' knee in an almost pleading gesture.  "You weren't... you were...?"

 

"A Hufflepuff."  Tonks giggled at the joint sigh of relief that emitted from both Sirius and Remus.  "My mum would have taken me straight out of Hogwarts if I'd sorted into Slytherin."

 

"You could have been a Gryffindor," Sirius sulked.  "The best house of them all.  Could have continued my legacy."

 

"Na. I didn't have what it took to be a Gryffindor.  Too much work.  I was one hell of a Hufflepuff, though.  Smoked an impressive amount of pot out by the Black Lake and took down an entire Quidditch pitch.  Might have also had my first fuck in the Astronomy Tower.  I was a legend, at least in my own mind."  Those were really the days.  Tonks had lived life to her fullest at Hogwarts, waiting for the day when she was finally an adult and could do as she pleased.  Too bad she really had no idea that being an adult meant the exact opposite.  That was a lesson hard learned.  "Don't tell me you aren't at least a _little_ proud of me."

 

Sirius laughed, a full-bodied, almost barking sound that Tonks hadn't heard in years.  "Proud doesn't do it justice, Little Cousin."  He pulled Tonks to him in a bone-crushing hug and her head swam, the alcohol once again making its presence known.  She rested her head against his shoulder to steady herself and inadvertently locked eyes with Remus, who seemed to have relaxed into the background, sitting backwards in a chair with his arms folded across the back.  He was watching them rather intensely, taking in her relationship with Sirius.  It was unnerving.

 

"You know," Sirius said, pulling away, "I might have never got myself benched for an entire Quidditch season, but I _did_ make the entire Great Hall uninhabitable for two whole weeks in my third year."

 

"How?! How could you possibly...?"

 

"Never-ending dung bombs," Remus answered, the intense look gone from his eyes and replaced with a hint of nostalgia.  "Sirius' brilliant take on your ordinary dung bomb."

 

"I was quite disappointed that "never-ending" turned out to be two weeks.  I was getting quite fond of dinner in bed."  Sirius gave Tonks a conspiratorial wink and turned to Remus.  "Though it was probably a good thing they got it cleared out.  Some of us couldn't handle being cooped up."

 

Remus' eyes narrowed playfully.  "If I recall, _you_ were the one who couldn't handle the lack of social interaction and we all paid for it."

 

"Hey," Sirius held his hands up in self defense.  "I wasn't the one hanging by my underpants from the Clock Tower."   Tonks gasped and Sirius grinned.  "It was the big hand."

 

"It was humiliating."  Remus groaned and buried his head in his arms.

 

"Somehow I can't imagine you hanging _anywhere_ by your underpants,"  Tonks laughed.

 

"You should try," Sirius teased, egged on by the scarlet glow of Remus' cheeks.  "He was hot shit back in the day."

 

Tonks could see the truth in that.  She remembered, vividly, scores of girls tracking Sirius and his group of friends around Hogsmeade, giggling and staring way too openly.  It was sickening to Tonks as a little girl, and vaguely amusing to her now.  Always fixated on the bad boy, these girls were.  But there had been times when the flirtatious glances weren't only directed at Sirius.  James had his fair share of devotees, silly girls who knew they never stood a chance against Lily Evans.  Peter even had a few girlfriends at Hogwarts.  And Remus... well Tonks had never heard of Remus having a real girlfriend, but she was sure that a lot of girls had liked him.  Her mother had kept up pretty well with Sirius and his friends, seeing as his own mother couldn't be bothered, and she often lamented that Remus didn't have the romantic entanglements the other boys had, though, apparently, he had options.  He was smart and sweet and handsome.  And twelve years hadn't changed a thing.

 

"I know he was."

 

That was enough to set Remus' whole face on fire, and Tonks couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for it.  She was a firm believer in giving credit where credit was due. 

 

"Awww look at him blushing!"  Sirius stumbled off the couch and over to Remus, tousling his sandy brown locks.  "You'd think he'd never had a bird tell him he was cute!"

 

Remus pushed Sirius away, only half playing.  "Forgive me if I never developed an ego the size of Mars.  I didn't have quite enough people kissing my ass for that."

 

"I make no apologies for my overwhelming popularity."

 

"Overwhelming...?"  Remus scoffed, rising from his chair.  "I seem to remember there being an "I Hate Sirius Black" club in our sixth year."

 

Sirius straightened his stance, and every hair on Tonks' arms stood straight up when his wand slid gracefully from his sleeve to his waiting hand.  "Not my fault a few schoolgirls got their hearts broken.  I never promised any of them that we'd be exclusive."

 

"Amanda Kettering?"  Remus's wand appeared out of nowhere, and he circled Sirius like a cat.  "If there was ever a girl who didn't deserve..."

 

"Jeez, Moony!" Sirius groaned.  "Are you ever going to let that go?"

 

"Who the hell was Amanda Kettering?" Tonks asked. 

 

"You used her!"  Remus snarled.

 

"Never!"  Sirius took a step back as Remus stepped forward.  "It was a fair exchange!  She wrote my Transfiguration essay and I took her to Hogsmeade.  We had a perfectly lovely time..."

 

"And you dumped her!"

 

"We were never together!" Sirius exclaimed, though Tonks wasn't sure that he was helping his case.  "It was a one and done for the both of us.  How was I supposed to know she had such a crush?"

 

"Fuck you, Padfoot.  Everyone knew.  And if you didn't then maybe you had your head even further up your own ass than I realized."

 

The two wizards squared off, no more than six feet away from each other.  Tonks' own wand tingled in her hand, prepared to shield her from stray spells.  As it turned out, there was no need.  Sirius grumbled something under his breath and Remus flew at him, tackling him to the ground with a strength Tonks didn't know he had.  For the next few moments, there was nothing but flying arms and legs and curses as the men tumbled on the floor.

 

"What is the matter with you?!" Tonks yelled, scrambling to the back of the couch when the rumble came too close to her feet for comfort.  "Two grown men, fighting over a girl who probably hasn't thought about either one of you in a decade!"

 

If they heard her, they didn't let on.  Or they probably didn't care.  There was an unmistakable sound of ripping fabric as Sirius momentarily gained the upper hand, but Remus gave as good as he got and then they were rolling, heading straight for the coffee table.  Walburga Black's hand-crafted mahogany coffee table.  Seconds later they were underneath it, and Tonks cringed at the loud bang of someone smacking their head.

 

"This is ridiculous!  Stop it before you hurt yours.."

 

It was too late.  One well-placed kick and a shove took two legs out from under Walburga's precious table and that was that.  The whole thing came crashing down on top of them.

 

"Fuck!" Remus yelped.

 

Tonks scrambled down off the couch and aimed her wand at the table, easily lifting it off of the two idiot wizards.  She set it to the side and turned to them, prepared to give a good scolding and perhaps medical treatment.

 

But they were laughing.

 

They were fucking laughing.

 

"We're getting old, Moony," Sirius chuckled, still flat on his back.  "That hurt a lot more than it should have."

 

"Can't talk," Remus wheezed dramatically.  "Can't breathe." 

 

Tonks shook her head.  "Over a girl?"

 

"Over a lot of things."  Sirius sat up slowly.  "Sometimes you just need to get it out of your system."

 

"And my system is clear.  For at least another decade or so."  Remus sat up as well and the two men helped each other to their feet.

 

"Okayyyy.  Glad you got yourselves sorted out."  Tonks gathered her things from the pile of clothing and slipped into her shoes.  "And I am going to leave you two to bask in your weird friendship."

 

"No!" the men groaned in unison.

 

"We'll behave.  We promise."  Sirius begged, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

 

"I'm sure you won't, but that's beside the point."  Tonks grinned and stood on her toes to give Sirius a kiss on the cheek.  "I've got work in the morning and I need my beauty sleep."

 

"We understand.  Or we would, if we had jobs to go to."  Remus grinned sheepishly.  Tonks kissed his cheek as well and he grinned even wider.

 

"Goodnight you two."

 

The men bade her goodnight and she made her way out of the study, pausing when she heard Sirius' voice from the behind the door.

 

"She's sure grown up beautifully, eh, Remus?"

 

Tonks didn't stay to hear the answer.


End file.
